Becoming Mrs. Bryant

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

Nick

"You don't believe me?" I asked Rico, and he sighed before shaking his head. "It's not that."

"You guys have been through a lot. Some things, more bizarre than others. It's just, the surrounding factors are what makes this so hard to believe to me" Rico confided. "You mean to tell me that you guys got a real human head shipped to your friend's door, and nobody called the police?"

"It wasn't up to me" I shrugged, "plus, you know how we've already kind of been under police radar this year. We aren't exactly fan favorites." Rico nodded, "trust me Nick I know that" he said, "and that's why I find it odd that you guys didn't go to the police."

"Lewis was questioned about Cassidy's death, and I mean no offense, but given the situation, rightfully so" Rico continued. "So you guys deciding to hide this from the police would only make him look all the more guiltier if they find out."

"How are they gonna find out?" I asked, folding my arms. Rico looked into the distance for a split second.

"I'm not gonna snitch, if that's what you're wondering" he spoke, looking back at me. "But you don't know who sent this girl's head, or why. You don't know if somebody is watching you guys, or if the police might've even had some involvement in this. Somebody could be setting you guys up."

"Well even if someone is watching us" I argued, "they'd know that we didn't do anything to her head. We saw it, got creeped out, and shipped that thing right back from where it came from. That's not a crime Rico." Rico looked unsure.

"That's not a crime," he replied, "but tampering with a dead body sure is." I scoffed, "we didn't touch her, so our fingerprints on aren't her face."

Rico shook his head, "I don't know Nick" he groaned, "this whole subject is weird and icky. I really hope that you guys don't fall for some crazy trap is all, seriously." I nodded, "I get it. We won't."

"But while we're here," I said, changing the topic, "can I ask you something?" We had been at a coffee shop, not because I wanted to meet there or anything, but because Rico had been studying for some big exam within his major. I wanted to talk to him, and he told me to go there.

"Hm?" Rico asked, "what's up?"

"I know a part of your act was possibly because of you wanting to hide our relation, but I'm still sort of confused here. Why did you tell Aubrey about Nova cheating? What did Nova do to deserve that?"

Rico closed his computer and fixed his posture, as if he'd been a wise, graying-haired father getting ready to drop some heavy, possibly painful truth-bomb on his kid. "Nick, have you ever head the saying: hurt people, hurt people?"

"Duh" I answered, "who hasn't?"

"Well, that was kind of the case here" Rico replied, and I folded my arms, though I didn't have an angry demeanor to my posture.

"Hurt people, hurt people. You'd be horrified to hear some of the things that some shitty people have simply been through" Rico informed me. I was kind of lost, because from what I saw when I was at Rico's house, he seemed to have it all. What shitty thing did he have to endure?

"What shitty thing did you go through?" I asked, somewhat rudely and with an eyebrow raised I'm sure. I didn't even mean to do all that really.

"Well I could sit here and give you my life story" Rico joked, "or you could just trace some recent events. Trying to find your birth mother and finding out she made your adoptive parents sign a paper that kept you away from her, is painful. Wondering what went wrong, or why you weren't good enough, is painful. That alone could throw somebody off for a while. Now mix that in with a straight A loser who has no history with girls. Nobody ever wants him and when someone does want him, it's another guy, and all he wants to do is hurt him."

"That was...that was so rude of me" I realized aloud, shaking my head. "Man I'm sorry, for everything I put you through. Seriously."

Lewis

"I can't find Cassidy's little brothers social media" I said as I sat with May, Nova, and Aubrey in Aubrey and Nova's kitchen. We had two computers, mine and Nova's out, doing research. Aubrey smiled.

"We found everything" she said, "you're good."

"Bro," I replied as Aubrey turned Nova's laptop towards me to see, "I've been looking for freaking days. How the hell did it only take you an hour?"

Aubrey slightly tilted her head and smirked. "There is no stronger force, than that of two conniving lesbians." She and Nova turned towards each other in sync, giving one another a high five.